Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 5, 1994                   TAG: 9402050048
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE:    EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Mag Poff
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ROANOKE GAS CO. TRADED 6,900 SHARES OF COMMON

Lindsey Quesinberry, a vice president at the Roanoke office of J.C. Bradford & Co., said the closing price range Friday was $32.50 bid and $35 asked.

That is a wide margin, Quesinberry said, but such spreads are common with thinly traded stocks.

Although very few shares changed hands, he said, the over-the-counter system makes it easier than previously for investors to trade the company's stock.

In the past, he said, the company itself kept a list of potential buyers and sellers, and the shares seldom traded. The shares of many small banks are handled in that manner, he said. As a result, the company stock has been held largely by insiders - directors and officers - or a small group of local investors. Wider trading also tends to draw the attention of institutional investors.

Quesinberry said 300 shares of Roanoke Gas common stock traded Tuesday, 3,400 Wednesday, 1,300 Thursday and 1,900 Friday.